Tamarillos

24 responses

Georgia starts with ... I struggle to keep my tamarillos alive - and two have lost all their leaves and died in less than 6 months. Any ideas? I thought it was mites but spraying them hasn't solved the problem

Db says... What are you spraying? Where did u planted it - Sunny or shaded location? Currently I'm growing one in pot since last 2 months (but I'm not sure if it can fruit in pot or not, does anyone know?).. Initially it didn't grow but now a days its growing fast, in fact very fast, leaves are getting bigger n bigger.. I think they don't like full sun, mine is at almost fully shaded location (receives sun only for hour or two), they also don't like wind, mine is currently on fence line which is in tight space bet ours and neighbors house, so its wind protected... Mine also always have mites most of the time but I spray Pyrethrum regularly which controls it for few days then mites come back and I spray again..

snottiegobble says... Question is how big is your pot? Tamars grow very quickly & even in half a wine barrel you would probably only get one harvest of fruit which would be its very first & just a few at that! They prefer semi shade in Perth, but full sun in Vic. so temperature is a big factor. The branches are brittle & easily broken by wind. Light frosts will burn the top leaves, but the fruit usually hang on till maturity. Pruning is advised to keep tree bushy. Yellow aphids on the underside of the leaves are usually the worst pests with sooty mould then becoming a nuisance as well.

Georgia says... I've got two, both in the ground and with reasonable (but far from perfect) wind protection; one in pretty full sun and another in about half and half. I have used confidor because pyrethrum doesn't seem to get rid of the mites but perhaps next year I'll just use very regular py

coastie says... I have just harvested my first crop of tamarillos, the orange ones, as opposed to red and yellow.Sooty mould appeared so obviously they were being attacked.Only slight damage to the leaves so I didnt worry, the fruit was not affected at all, and they were very sweet.Mt tree is in full sun and staked because they damage easily in the wind, I had some branches break off because they were laden with fruit.They like water and warmth.I live on Sth Gold Coast.

MaryT says... Db if you have a choice of putting it in the ground, do it. The only advantage you might have of keeping it in a container is that you can move it, like if you need to follow the sun. I only grow in containers because I have no choice. The only patch of partial sunlight I have is on concrete (ex car space).

Db says... MaryT, I do have some space in my small garden but there are lots of trees which are currently growing in pot so I need decide.. Also, I have heavy clay soil, being shallow rooted and short-lived I don't think Tamarillo will like our clay (unless I prepare site). Are you growing Tamarillo in a pot, if yes, is it fruited?

MaryT says... Yes, a friend gave me a tamarillo and it has all the bugs mentioned in above posts and I'm constantly doing battle with them. No I have not had a fruit from it and I probably never will. If you have limited space then I agree you need to think twice before giving this one the space.

MaryT says... I'm not going to let this thing beat me, Amanda. I just chopped its head off to keep it shorter and I will find a new spot for it. It's better perform then or else (though my friend said I should speak to it nicely).

Dave says... I've got three Tammies in a part shade spot (protected from all sides by larger trees and structure). It survives the winter here but loses many leaves, but does fine once the warmer weather starts again. They don't like the wind at all and seem to be suited as understory or fringe trees. They are on a bank of my grey water filter drain and seem to like that too. I have had plenty of fruit off my Denmark (yellow) and red one, I prefer the yellow. My red was plagued by aphids too but hardly any on the yellow which is right beside it interestingly enough.
I have been too a permaculture garden not far from here and they had their growing right underneath some 8 metre trees probably only getting 4-6 hours direct sun a day, they were all ripening fine. Also were wind protected by surrounding elements.

MaryT says... Yes, Dave. Interesting that the red one gets all the bugs; that's what I have. I would say, from literature and the forum, my 'tammy' has an ideal spot. A bright spot without too much direct sun, protected from wind. So I'll move it so it gets more direct morning sun but still reasonably protected. After I chopped its head off it has but a dozen leaves. I'll let it over winter and see how it behaves in spring.

snottiegobble says... Frank, if you are already getting frost I suspect you will endure much colder nights before spring. If your tammys are in pots I would suggest putting them on the patio or even inside before dusk if thats pos?.
otherwise there is a special light white material available from nurseries ( I used it on babacos) that you can drape over the plants each evening!

Michael D says... Can I ask what all the fuss is about this fruit.I read in the forums about it and decided to grow a plant two years ago.Now its 2 metres tall with flowers but not setting fruit.Should I wait another year because the fruit will be exceptional or will it be a dud like Pepino and I should get rid of it and plant maybe a papaya instead in its place.

Waterfall says... I am surprised it is not setting fruit, our tree produces around 40 fruit per year at a time when not much else has fruit on it so filling a gap you might say.
I enjoy the red variety but did not like the orange and pulled the tree out this year. The other positives is they are relatively pest free, aphids is probably the only minor concern, we dont even net ours anymore and dont lose a single fruit. You can harvest them over many months and they have a long shelf life.

My red Tamarillo has few tiny flowers at the moment. I can tell you in 3 months time how it tastes. So just hang on for another year. But I agreed with you about Pepino -Kendal Gold. After 7 months waiting I removed the tree last week as it is not worth to grow. Cheers

Waterfall says... A pepino melon can be very good, the trouble is they really need to stay on the tree until the fruit turn an almost orange/yellow colour and slightly soft to touch. This is very difficult as lots of pests will be attacking the fruit at this stage.

Picked any earlier the fruit is rather unremarkable. Picked with the slightest hint of green and they taste more like a cucumber than a sweet melon.

Michael D says... Hi David
Looking at your page it seems like you have every great tasting fruit trees there is to grow.Looking foward to see how you rate the tamarallio.I notice you have a amberalla from cutting.How did you manage to do it?

Most of young tropical fruit trees I grow in pots in the green house so it will survive winter in Melbourne. Any established trees will put in ground with some sort of frost protection until they are really strong. For the Amberalla it is about 1.8m and grow very healthy in the green house at the moment. Amberalla needs a lot sun and water, and dynamic lifter. haven't decided in ground or keep it in pot. If keeps in pot will upgrade the current size from 50l to 90l in October. Photos shows you when I bought it on Ebay in July 2017 and now. Cheers

Yes, I tried 6 fruits at different time from Feb to April, all waiting until golden yellow with black stripes. Skin was very soft, if you squeeze hard it will go in, but it tastes like young green melon plus a bit of detergent which was very unpleasant. However, fruits bought from markets are very good. I think the quality of Pepino is very unreliable, big variation even I got it from Daleys. That's why a lot people reported it is a dud in contrast to many claims it is very good. Cheers

Adrian says... Canberra is a really challenging place for growing Tamarillos. This winter we had multiple -6 degree temperatures and my Tamarillo trees, which bore beautifully last season, lost all their leaves. I had kept the trees under eaves on the north side of the house, but I should have placed the trees closer to the house wall Nevertheless, the branches remained green and are now sprouting buds in the warm early spring. I look forward to another Canberra miracle this season (but not a political one).